1
Q
Scientific Method
A
Process: observe → develop theory → make predictions → test
Focus: theories & hypotheses
Theory
Explains how/why something is
Organizes principles, concepts, ideas
States possible relationships between concepts
Increases understanding of complex issues
Hypothesis
Must be testable & falsifiable
Cannot be proven, only supported or rejected
Must be precise for testability
Ex: exercise improves memory”
Theories→ generate hypotheses
Hypothesis tested→ confirmed or rejected
Confirmed = strengthens theory
Rejected = revise/retest → may alter theory
2
Q
What is Psychology
A
Scientific study of human and non-human behavior and mental processes, understanding why people think, feel, and act the way they do
3
Q
Biopsychosocial Model
A
Used to understand behaviour
3 Interacting factors:
Biological: brain, genetics, physiology
Psychological: thoughts, learning, norms, culture
Social/Cultural: relationships, norms, culture
Key idea: All 3 factors interact to shape behavior
4
Q
Empiricism and Determinism
A
Empiricism:
Knowledge through experience/observation (incl. Human behaviour comes from experience & senses)
- Provides the method (phsycologists rely on observation and expirmentation to study behaviour)
Determinism:
All events and actions have physical causes
Required for psychology (and all sciences) to study cause-effect
- provides the assumption (behvaiour has causes that can be discovered)
5
Q
Phrenology
A
19th century pseudoscience that claimed a person’s mental traits and character could be determined by the shape and bumps on their skull
6
Q
Nature / Nurture
A
Nature: human traits shaped by genetics and biology
Nurture: human traits shaped by environment and experience
7
Q
Behaviourism
A
Study of observable behaviors and explains them as a result of environmental conditioning rather than internal mental states like thoughts and feelings.
8
Q
Cognitive psychology
A
Modern psychological perspective that focuses on processes such as memory, thinking, and language
9
Q
Humanistic psychology
A
Focuses on the uniqueness of humans, each person’s freedom to act
10
Q
Fechner
A
Developed psychophysics (link between physical stimuli & perception)
11
Q
Darwin
A
natural selection
12
Q
Freud
A
developed psychoanalysis, psychosexual theory, dream analysis and hypnosis, unconscious mind, medical model→ use of medical idea to treat mental disorders (psychiatry)
13
Q
Wundt
A
research focused on introspection, established the first laboratory dedicated to studying human behavior, formally gave credibility to the field of psychology
- made psychology scientific, by creating the firt lab and studying the mind through controlled experiments.
14
Q
James
A
seen as father of psychology, functionalism–> how mental processes help people adapt to their environemnt
(behaviors support survival & reproduction)
- influences on Darwin
15
Q
Pavlov
A
dogs in lab (use bell to make dog salivate, change behavior), classical conditioning
16
Q
Skinner
A
rats (radical behaviorism: how an organism responded to rewards and punishments)
17
Q
Watson
A
baby albert study (traumatized baby- died early), ethical violations. Gave advice to parents to never treat kids with affection (led to unemotional generation)
18
Q
Rogers
A
developed person centered therapy based on humanistic principles (“Steve Jobs” of psychotherapy)
19
Q
Hebb
A
examined how cells on the brain change over the course of learning. The more we do something the stronger the neurotic pathways become in our brain.
Hebb’s law: cells that fire together, wire together
20
Q
Penfield
A
neurosurgeon, treated seizures, electrically stimulated the brain and patient would report sensations- created maps of sensory and motor cortices in brain and that people’s experiences can be represented in the brain
21
Q
Basic and applied research
A
Basic: research is done to study theoretical questions without trying to solve a specific problem
Applied: utilizes the principle and discoveries of psychology for practical purposes (finding solutions to real-world problems)
22
Q
Five characteristics of quality scientific research
A
- Based on measurements that are objective, valid, and reliable
- Generalizable
- Use of techniques that reduce bias
- Made public
- Can be replicated
23
Q
Objectivity and subjectivity
A
Objective: fact based, valid and reliable, something that can be measured, is consistent across instruments and observers. Something that is known, and exists.
Subjective: observation, one’s own interpretation of something, their knowledge of the event shaped by prior belief’s/opinions/expectations
24
Q
Generalizability
A
The results of studies can be applied outside the laboratory to the real world in other contexts
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Informed Consent
Involved in ethics and research, human participants must provide informed consent when agreeing to experiment.
26
Hypothesis
Hypothesis (making an educated guess). Must be formed and then tested with proper research methods.
27
Variables
Variable refers to an object, concept, or event being controlled, manipulated, or measured by a scientist.
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Operational definition
Statements that describe the procedures (or operation) and specific measures that are used to record observations. Often multiple possible operational definitions.
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Reliability and validity
Reliability: consistency of measurement
Test-retest Reliability = similar scores over time
Interrater Reliability = two raters should produce similar scores
Validity: extent to which a measure assess what it claims to measure (measures what it is supposed to measure)
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Sources of bias
Demand characteristics: unintentional cues from the researcher or assistants.
Hawthorne Effect: when behaviour changes because it is being observed
Social Desirability/Socially Desirable Responding: participants may respond in ways that increase the chances that they will be viewed favorably
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Single-blind and double-blind studies
Single-blind: participants do not know the true purpose of the study (ex; could be receiving placebo)
Double-blind: neither the participant nor the experimenter knows the exact treatment for any individual
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Different types of research designs
Quantitative and Qualitative research
Quantitative - statistics oriented (numbers)
Qualitative - participant interview oriented (surveys and opinions)
Mixed methods - mix of qualitative and quantitative
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Frequency
(Hz) Number of cycles completed by sound wave in one second
34
Normal and skewed distribution
Skewed: an asymmetrical distribution with a large cluster of scores on one side and a long “tail” on the other
Normal: probably just normal distribution curve, no longer “tail”
35
Central tendency
Refers to the middle or typical value of a dataset.
36
Mean, median, mode
Mean: average of set of numbers
Median: the point on the horizontal at which 50% of all observations are lower and 50% of all observations are higher
Mode: the category with the highest frequency, the category with the most observations
37
Sensation and perception
Sensation: detection of physical energy by the sense organs
Senses detect visual, auditory, other sensory stimuli
Transmit stimuli to brain through neural signals
Perception: involves attending to, organizing and interpreting stimuli that we sense
38
Diagram on slide 5 - process of receiving sensory information to perception
Stimuli (Sights, Sounds, Smells, Tastes, Textures) →
Sensation
Sensory receptors → Attention → Interpretation →
Meaning
Response → Perception
OR
Stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures) → Sensory Receptors → Attention → Interpretation → Response → Perception
39
Psychophysics - Weber and Weber's Law, Fechner
Psychophysics: the field of study that explores how physical energy such as light and sound and their intensity relate to psychological experience
Weber’s Law: states that the just noticeable difference between two stimuli changes as a proportion of those stimuli
Weber - first person to study human response to a physical stimulus in a quantitative fashion
Fechner - student of Weber - noticed that different individuals have different sensitivity to certain stimuli, depending on the sense
40
Absolute threshold, difference threshold, and just noticeable difference
Absolute threshold: differences between not being able to perceive stimulus and being just barely able to perceive it
The smallest detectable amount of stimulation and perceived
Hearing music - when you turn up the volume and you begin to hear the music
Difference threshold: measure of smallest increase/decrease in physical stimulus required to produce a just noticeable difference (JND)
JND (just noticeable difference): smallest change in sensation deducted 50% of time, the amount of difference required for us to recognize that two items aren’t the same
41
Signal detection theory
Signal detection theory: whether a stimulus is perceived depends on both the sensory experience and the judgment made by the subject
Detecting sensory stimulus involves noticing a stimulus against background “noise” and deciding whether stimulus is actually present.
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Transduction
external sensory stimulus is converted by a sense receptor into neural impulses/activity via transduction
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Sensory adaptation
Sensory adaptation: activation is highest when stimulus is first detected, then sensory adaptation occurs
Become less sensitive to unchanging sensory stimulus over time
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Subliminal information processing
We process many sensory inputs unconsciously and many of our actions occur with little to no thought or deliberation
The processing of sensory information that occurs below the level of conscious awareness
Example - Amazon Logo
45
Figure ground
Basic perceptual rule = figure ground principle
Figure ground principle: Gestalt theory of visual perception that describes our tendency to perceive objects as distinct figures in the foreground against a less prominent background
46
Gestalt Principles of perceptual organization
configuration which we perceive.
Figure-Ground Principle
Principle of perceptual organization
Visual field perceived in terms of object (figure) against background (ground)
Similarity- Visual, auditory, other stimuli with similar characteristics
Proximity- Objects close together in space or time perceived as belonging together
Continuity- Perceive figures figures or objects as belonging together. Appears as continuous pattern
Closure- if parts of a figure are missing, we can perceive it as a whole
47
Perceptual constancy
we can view people and objects from different angles, distances, lighting conditions, objects can be seen as maintaining same size, shape, brightness, colour
48
Bottom-up processing and top-down processing
Bottom-up processing: occurs when we perceive individual bits of sensory information (sounds) and use them to construct a more complex language (message)
Top-down processing: when our perceptions are influenced by our expectations or by our prior knowledge
49
Influence on processing- attention
Attention
When paying attention to more than one stimulus, attention is the process of sorting sensations and selecting some for further processing.
Inattentional Blindness
Failure to notice changes in objects if not directly paying attention.
Selective Attention
Divided Attention
Inattentional blindness
When focused, we can miss the obvious
50
Sclera
The white portion of the eye
51
Iris
The coloured portion that controls how much light enters the eye
Muscles dilate and contract pupil through reflex
52
Pupil
Hole where light enters the eye
53
Cornea
Transparent protective layer that bends light rays inwards, through pupil
54
Lens
Contains sensory receptors for vision
Keeps images in focus onto retina
Image projected onto retina is upside down and reversed left to right
Changes curvature (accommodation) to reflect light back onto back of eye
Important as we adjust for distance of objects (close to us or far away)
Glasses change the way light enters the eye to help correct for myopia or hyperopia
55
Retina
is the membrane at the back of the eye
56
Fovea
is center of the eye and is responsible for acuity (sharpness of vision)
- Receptors change light rays into neural impulses
Impulses transmitted to bipolar, amacrine, horizontal cells, then ganglion cells
57
Myopia and hyperopia
Nearsightedness (Myopia)
Distance through eyeball too short or too long
See nearby objects clearly, distant images blurry
Farsightedness (Hyperopia)
Focal image longer than eye can handle
Acts as if image should focus behind retina
See distant objects clearly, close objects blurry
58
Rods and cones
Rods
Light sensitive receptors in retina
Respond to black and white
Encode in shades of grey
Cones
Receptor cells in retina
Help see colour and fine detail
Do not function in very dim light
59
Pathway of sensory information from the eye to the occipital lobe, from retinal image to meaningful information - how we make meaning of the sensory information
the way the lens alters light rays produces a clear, image upside down on the retina
The brain’s visual processing system takes the upside-down retinal image and flips it so it is properly oriented
60
Frequency (Hz)
number of cycles completed by sound wave in one second
61
Amplitude (dB)
loudness of sound caused by force or pressure with which air molecules move
The energy or height of the sound wave
62
Pitch
the number of cycles completed per second-determines the pitch (high or low) of the sound
63
Timbre
distinct quality of sound distinguishing it from other sounds of same pitch and loudness
64
Decibel
the loudness of a sound (its amplitude) is measured in decibels
65
Outer ear (canal and eardrum)
Pinna: visible curved flap of cartilage and skin
- Auditory Canal
2.5 cm long, lined with hairs
Leads to eardrum
- Eardrum (Tympanic Membrane)
Thin, flexible membrane
About a centimeter in diameter
Moves in response to sound waves
66
Middle ear
Ossicles
Inside chambers of middle ear
3 smallest bones in body
Size of grain of rice
Hammer, anvil, stirrup: link eardrum to oval window
Ossicles amplify sound 22 times
67
Inner ear - cochlea
Cochlea
Fluid-filled, snail-shaped, bony chamber
Stirrup pushes against oval window, vibrations move cochlear fluid in waves
Waves move basilar membrane hair cells
Produce electrical impulse transmitted to brain
68
Vestibular system - where it is and what it does
The vestibular system is located in the inner ear
Detects motion and changes in head position, then sends signals to the brain so your body can adjust and stay stable
consists of two groups of structures:
1. The vestibular sacs detect our head’s position
2. The semicircular canals detect when our head is in motion
Tube-like canals filled with liquid
Senses rotation of head
69
Sense of touch
Touch→ nerve endings send signals to spinal cord
Signals travel up spinal cord → brainstem → midbrain → somatosensory cortex
Somatosensory cortex processes tactile information
70
Pain sensation
Pain receptors: near skin surface, highly sensitive
Gate Control Model: spinal cord regulates pain awareness
“Gate” can transmit or block pain signals
Small fibers→ pain; large fibers→ inhibit pain
Cognitive & emotional factors influence pain perception
Phantom pain: pain felt in missing limb after amputation
71
Acute vs. chronic pain
Acute Pain
Identifiable source (injury/damage)
Short-term, improves with rest/time
Narcotics commonly used
Chronic Pain
Lasts > 3 months, pain itself becomes disease
Activity needed for recovery
Careful medication control (avoid overuse)
72
Role of brain in pain
Brain responds to strength, repetition, duration of pain signals (normal or abnormal)
Pain gains meaning via cerebral cortex + limbic system → conscious + emotional experience
Brain can modify pain through inhibitory system + release of endorphins (“natural morphine”)
73
Sense of smell - receptors for smell and process of sensing and perceiving smell
Odor molecules → nostrils → olfactory epithelium (receptor cells)
Olfactory receptors = neurons with axons forming the olfactory nerve
Olfactory nerve → olfactory bulbs → other brain regions
74
Sense of taste - tasters
Taste (Gusation)
5 tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, umami (glutamate in protein-rich foods)
Taste Buds & Papillae
Papillae = small bumps on tongue; 3 types have taste buds
Each taste bud; 60-100 receptor cells, lifespan ~ 10 days, continually replaces
Aging → 50% taste bud loss by age 65
Taster types
Non-tasters: 96 taste buds/cm2 (reduced ability)
Medium tasters: taste buds/cm2
Supertasters: 425 taste buds/cm2 (heightened taste)
75
Olfactory and gustatory perception
Olfaction + gustation work together → influence food preferences
Called “chemical senses” (stimulates by chemicals, not light/sound)
Smell + taste pathways converge in orbitofrontal cortex
76
Chromosomes
store and transmit genetic information (contains genes and double helix)
77
Genes
segment of DNA located along the chromosomes
78
DNA
substance of which chromosomes are made
79
Alleles
different versions of the same gene that determined variations in traits (eye color, blood type)
80
What is behavioural genomics
the study of DNA and the ways in which specific genes are related to behaviour
81
Dominant vs. recessive
Dominant allele→ expressed if at least one copy is present. Recessive allele→ only expresses if both copies are recessive
82
Epigenetics
study of how environment alters gene expression (ongoing, bidirectional exchanges between hereditary and all levels of environment (not a change in the genetic code, just the way genes are turned off or turned on and read, genetic expression)
83
Methylation
environmentally triggered biochemical process that reduces or silence gene expression
84
Genotype and Phenotype
Genotype: (genetic programming that provides phenotype):
Genes only determine the potential for characteristics
The actual set of genes an individual has is a genotype
Phenotype: (genotype + environment = phenotype)Behavioural and physical attributes/characteristics determine and individual’s ability to reproduce and survive in the environment
85
Behavioural genetics (and twin studies + adoptive studies)
The study of how genes and environment influence behavior
Comparing people of different levels of relatedness (e.g., siblings vs. strangers) and measuring resemblances for specific trait of interest
Twin studies: investigate the genetic basis of behaviour
Example of the interaction between inheritance (genotype) and environment (phenotype)
Adoptive studies: comparing a trait or characteristics between adopted children and their biological adoptive parents
86
3 main functions of the nervous system
Receiving input from the senses
Processing information by relating it to previous experiences
Producing and monitoring bodily actions, or output
Input→ hearing the sound of alarm, Processing→ brain knows that it is time to get up, Output→ brain directs muscles to shut off the alarm clock
87
Central and peripheral nervous system
made up of neurons in the brain and spinal Cord
Know the diagram**
Peripheral: somatic and Autonomic
88
Somatic nervous system
Receiving and processing sensory info., skeletal muscle function-voluntary and reflexive movement
89
Autonomic nervous system
Sympathetic and parasympathetic:
regulating organ, glands and key biological processing, automatically happen not aware of these
Sympathetic (arousing, gets moving) + Parasympathetic (calming)
Made up of nerves outside the CNS
Carry incoming sensory signals and outgoing motor signals
Parts of the brain on slide 36- location and primary function(s) of each part and what parts of the brain each is connected to:
90
Neurons and glial cells
Neurons: Specialized to respond rapidly to signals and send signals of their own. Can differ in form and function
parts= Cell body/Nucleus/Soma, Dendrites, Axon, Myelin Sheath, End Bulbs/Axon Terminals, Synapse
Glial Cells: Glial= “glue”, physically hold neurons w/in the nervous system, help guide the growth of neurons. Secrete and absorb chemicals to maintain a stable chemical environment for neurons. Can send a limited # of signals.
91
Dendrite and synapse/synaptic cleft
Neuron cell structures have fibers that either “send” or “receive” information
Axon-send
Dendrites-receive
Transmitters & Neurotransmitters
Chemicals that function as messengers allowing neurons to communicate with each other
Synapses-neurons communicate with each other here
Synaptic transmission- in text
92
8 neurotransmitters
1. Glutamate (memory): excites nervous system; memory and autonomic nervous system reactions
2. GABA(calming)inhibits brain activity; lowers arousal, anxiety, and excitation; facilitates sleep
3. Acetylcholine (learning): movement; attention
4. Dopamine (pleasure): control of movement; reward-seeking behaviour, cognition and attention
5. Serotonin (mood): regulation of sleep, appetite, mood
6. Endorphins (euphoria): released during exercise, excitement and sex. Producing well-being and euphoria, reducing pain
7. Noradrenaline (concentration): affects attention and responding actions in the brain. Contracts blood vessels, increasing blood flow.
8. Adrenaline (fight or flight): produced in stressful situations. Increases heart rate and blood flow, leading to physical boost and heightened awareness.
93
Action potential of neurons
Resting potential- inside is slightly negative
Stimulation- positive ions rush in, inside becomes positive (action potential)
Reset- positive ions pumped out
Resting potential restored- neuron ready to fire again
94
Endocrine system- what is it- function and connection to nervous system
Consists of a series of glands
The glands manufacture and secret hormones into the bloodstream
Hormones travel through the circulatory system and have important effects on many bodily functions:
Contributes to homeostasis
95
Neuroplasticity
the capacity of the brain to change and rewire itself based on individual experience
Psych*1000
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